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Contribution of Macromolecular Antioxidants to Dietary Antioxidant Capacity: A Study in the Spanish Mediterranean Diet

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Abstract

Epidemiological and clinical studies show that diets with a high antioxidant capacity, such us those rich in plant food and beverages, are associated with significant decreases in the overall risk of cardiovascular disease or colorectal cancer. Current studies on dietary antioxidants and dietary antioxidant capacity focus exclusively on low molecular weight or soluble antioxidants (vitamins C and E, phenolic compounds and carotenoids), ignoring macromolecular antioxidants. These are polymeric phenolic compounds or polyphenols and carotenoids linked to plant food macromolecules that yield bioavailable metabolites by the action of the microbiota with significant effects either local and/or systemic after absorption. This study determined the antioxidant capacity of the Spanish Mediterranean diet including for the first time both soluble and macromolecular antioxidants. Antioxidant capacity and consumption data of the 54 most consumed plant foods and beverages were used. Results showed that macromolecular antioxidants are the major dietary antioxidants, contributing a 61 % to the diet antioxidant capacity (8000 μmol Trolox, determined by ABTS method). The antioxidant capacity data for foods and beverages provided here may be used to estimate the dietary antioxidant capacity in different populations, where similar contributions of macromolecular antioxidants may be expected, and also to design antioxidant-rich diets. Including macromolecular antioxidants in mechanistic, intervention and observational studies on dietary antioxidants may contribute to a better understanding of the role of antioxidants in nutrition and health.

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Acknowledgments

We thank M.L. García-González for technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Metabolism and Nutrition, Institute of Food Science, Technology and Nutrition (ICTAN-CSIC), Madrid, Spain

    Jara Pérez-Jiménez, M. Elena Díaz-Rubio & Fulgencio Saura-Calixto

Authors
  1. Jara Pérez-Jiménez
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  2. M. Elena Díaz-Rubio
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  3. Fulgencio Saura-Calixto
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fulgencio Saura-Calixto.

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Funding

This research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (AGL2011-27,741). M.E. D-R. and J. P-J. acknowledge the CSIC and the MINNECO for JAE-Doc and Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral contracts, respectively.

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The authors declare no conflict of interests.

Human and Animal Studies

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects.

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Pérez-Jiménez, J., Elena Díaz-Rubio, M. & Saura-Calixto, F. Contribution of Macromolecular Antioxidants to Dietary Antioxidant Capacity: A Study in the Spanish Mediterranean Diet. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 70, 365–370 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-015-0513-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-015-0513-6

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